People with a rare eye condition that causes sudden and ‘frightening’ sight loss have told ITV News they believe it was caused by weight-loss jabs, as Rosie Dowsing reports.
By ITV News Reporter Rosie Dowsing and Producer Georgia Ziebart
People with a rare eye condition that causes ‘frightening’ vision loss have told ITV News they believe it was caused by weight-loss medication, prompting experts to advise people to get their eyes checked before taking the drugs.
It comes as the UK medicines health regulator last month issued a safety warning after receiving three reports linking Semaglutide – known by brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus – to the incurable eye condition called NAION (Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy).
NAION is often referred to as an ‘eye stroke’ – it causes sudden, painless vision loss – usually in one eye, but sometimes in both eyes.
The condition is thought to be caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve, and risk factors include sleep apnoea, high blood pressure and type two diabetes.
New research, released on Wednesday and published in the British Journal for Opthalmology, shows that the weight-loss jab Wegovy may carry the highest risk of sudden sight loss compared to other Semaglutide drugs.
Wegovy is approved on the NHS to help people lose weight in higher doses.
Ozempic uses lower doses to treat type 2 diabetes, along with Rybelsus, which is a pill rather than a jab.
Peter Osler, 68, from Harrogate, has NAION in both eyes and believes he got it because he was prescribed Ozempic for diabetes.
He lost his peripheral vision and describes his sight as like looking through binoculars. After being diagnosed with NAION, he had to give up work and driving.
Peter said: “The common thread going through NAION is you wake up with it. But I wasn’t asleep when it happened. I didn’t have high blood pressure, I’ve never had high blood pressure.
“In my mind, [Ozempic] is the only thing that caused it.”
Peter added that although he has diabetes, it has always been well-managed. He said he never had any indication of diabetic eye problems such as diabetic retinopathy, for which he continues to be tested for on a yearly basis.
Peter says he feels “validated” by the MHRA warning and a number of studies that suggest that, although it is still rare, there is an increased risk of developing NAION when taking Semaglutide.
He says he is concerned about the widespread use of Semaglutide for weight-loss, given he was only on a low dose as diabetes medication.
“I was on 1 milligram a week, that’s injected into your stomach. People taking it for weight-loss can take up to 12 pens a week.
“In my view I was only taking a very small dosage of Ozempic, and I’ve gone blind through it. What are the risks of someone taking ten times that amount?
“My experience is very frightening. Very life changing. It’s the loss of mobility, the loss of freedom, and having to depend on others.”
Further research has suggested the odds of NAION were almost five times higher with Wegovy than Ozempic, and more than three times higher in men than in women.
One man from Hertfordshire told ITV News he had been taking Ozempic and then Wegovy before he developed NAION in one eye.
He wished to remain anonymous because he feels there is a stigma surrounding the irreparable damage caused to his sight, and he doesn’t want it to impact his work.
The man, whom ITV News is calling Miles, had no pre-existing health conditions.
“Now that I understand the implications for me, I regret taking the weight loss medication,” he told ITV News.
“I think it’s a very positive drug that impacts many many people. I do think that because of the risk, people should be made aware.”
Miles said he has been left “in fear” of a second NAION event, which could lead to him losing more of his sight.
“The impact on people’s lives is immense,” he said. “Potentially, you could be completely blind. It’s extremely frightening.”
Miles has been told by doctors that he has a crowded optic nerve, known as a ‘disk at risk’.
If he had an eye health check before taking the weight-loss medication, this crowded optic nerve would have been a red flag or a warning not to continue treatment.‘This is a catastrophic, life-changing injury’
Todd Engel is one of at least 20 people in the United States taking legal action against Novo Nordisk, the company who produce Ozempic and Wegovy, after he suffered NAION in both eyes.
Todd, who lives in Maryland, says he wishes he had never started taking Ozempic to treat diabetes.
After two ‘eye strokes’ or NAION episodes, Todd completely lost all his vision, and therefore his independence.
He says his eyes were also his livelihood, as a heavy good vehicle driver.
Todd told ITV News: “This is not just a side effect. This is a catastrophic life-changing injury.
“I will never ever be able to see my wife’s beautiful face, any of my children or grandchildren. I won’t be able to play ball with my grandkids.”
Todd’s wife Shelley says their life changed overnight, and all future plans of travelling as part of their retirement went out the window.
The UK and European medicines authorities have added NAION as an adverse effect on the product information for Ozempic and Wegovy, but the US medicines agency (FDA) has not.
Shelley said: “We are hoping that NAION will become part of the warning label, to give people the choice to make this decision on their own.
“Had Todd known this would be the effect of medication that was supposed to help him, he wouldn’t have taken it.”
‘This could be prevented with an eye check up’ Some retrospective studies show a link between Semaglutide-use and NAION, but health professionals say more research is needed to establish a causal link between them.
After reviewing all available data, the European Medical Agency’s (EMA) safety committee concluded that NAION is a very rare side effect of Semaglutide – meaning it may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking the drug.
It added that adults with type 2 diabetes have a two-fold increase in the risk of developing NAION compared with people not taking the medicine.
The UK medicines regulator (the MHRA) said: “Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a condition that can cause sudden deterioration in vision, usually in one eye at a time, has been very rarely reported in association with Semaglutide in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, weight management and cardiovascular risk reduction.
“Patients reporting a sudden loss of vision (including partial loss) while on Semaglutide treatment should be urgently referred for ophthalmological examination.”
Dr Sui Wong, a neuro-ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, says patients have come to her with concerns about the link between weight-loss medication and vision loss.
She said that even though the risk is small, “for the person who experiences it, they’d be saying they wish they’d known in the first place. So, having this kind of informed conversation is important.
“The key thing is people should have an informed discussion to decide on the risks they would be taking, and as part of that they can go and get an eye check to be part of that informed decision.”
Novo Nordisk, which produces Ozempic and Wegovy, is based in Denmark, where 12 people have won compensation after claiming the drug caused them incurable vision loss, or NAION.
In response to this ITV News investigation, Novo Nordisk said: “Patient safety is our top priority, and we take any reports about adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously. We work closely with authorities and regulatory bodies from around the world to continuously monitor the safety profile of our products.
“The EU SmPC and patient leaflets for Wegovy, Ozempic, (Semaglutide injection) and Rybelsus have been updated to include “Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION)” and under section 4.4 “Special warnings and precautions for use” and as an adverse drug reaction in section 4.8 “Undesirable effects” (frequency: very rare, meaning it may effect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking Semaglutide).
“Based on the totality of evidence we concluded that the data did not suggest a reasonable possibility of a causal relationship between Semaglutide and NAION and Novo Nordisk believes that the benefit-risk profile of Semaglutide remains favourable.
“We recommend that any patients experiencing side effects while taking our medicines report them to their healthcare provider and in the UK, use the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.”
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